Dana Walden

Company: The Walt Disney Company
Title: Co-Chairman, Disney Entertainment
Industry: Culture, media, entertainment and sports
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Notable in 2023: Negotiated a landmark distribution agreement between Disney and Charter, seen by the industry as a model for future deals.

As co-chairman of The Walt Disney Company's Disney Entertainment, Dana Walden is responsible for much of what we watch on television and streaming. Since taking the position in February 2023, she's helped secure ABC's fourth consecutive year as the top entertainment network. She oversees more than 4,500 hours of programming a year, including shows like "Abbott Elementary" and "The Bear."

While the House of Mouse has undergone restructuring and mass layoffs, Walden has been at the forefront of the company's efforts to craft a sustainable future as linear TV confronts the streaming future. Under Walden, the company has doubled down on streaming media. She helped negotiate the Disney-Charter distribution agreement in September. The deal gave Charter the rights to sell its streaming platforms Disney+ and ESPN+ as part of its packages and allowed the distribution of 19 Disney networks on its traditional cable offerings. Many analysts believe this could be the blueprint for future network-streaming and cable provider deals.

"This is the future of our business," Walden told Deadline.

Walden is also in charge of Disney's "one-app experience," which bundles Disney+ and Hulu under the name of Hulu on Disney+. Under the program, customers can access programming from both services without having to pay for two separate subscriptions.

All this has had the industry rumbling about whether Walden has become the prime candidate to take over the Disney CEO job when Bob Iger's contract expires in 2026. Until then, Walden will continue to shape Disney's path to reach consumers wherever they want to watch.